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Overview

Force Palm is one of the most versatile abilities in Crimson Desert. It serves as a combat tool, a puzzle-solving mechanic, a traversal aid, and even a mining technique. Kliff learns Force Palm automatically during Chapter 1 in the main quest Abyss Without Balance. The ability condenses energy into your palm and releases it in a single powerful strike that reduces the target's defense. Throughout the game you will unlock several variants that expand its uses into healing, aerial combat, diving attacks, elemental damage, and core-shattering focused blasts.

This guide covers every aspect of Force Palm: the basic controls, Spirit resource management, each variant and how to unlock it, and practical tips for combat, puzzle solving, and exploration.

Controls

Force Palm is activated by pressing a single button. Hold the input to aim, then release to fire the palm strike at your target.

When you press the Force Palm input, Kliff enters an aiming stance. A targeting reticle appears showing where the palm strike will land. Release the button to fire. You can cancel by dodging or pressing the block button.

Spirit Resource

Force Palm costs 5 Spirit per use. If nothing happens when you press the Force Palm input, your Spirit meter is most likely empty. Spirit is the green resource bar displayed below your health. It does not regenerate passively during combat in most situations, so you need to recharge it manually.

To recharge Spirit, hold L3 + R3 on a controller or press X on keyboard. Kliff enters a brief focus stance and channels energy, refilling the Spirit meter. You are vulnerable during this animation, so find a safe window between enemy attacks before recharging. Certain skills and items can also restore Spirit passively or on hit.

Combat Applications

In combat, Force Palm is primarily used to reduce an enemy's defense. Each hit temporarily lowers the target's Defense stat, making your follow-up attacks deal more damage. Against regular enemies this is useful but not essential. Against bosses, it becomes a core part of your strategy.

Defense Reduction

A single Force Palm strike visibly lowers the defense of the target for a short duration. Stacking multiple hits extends and deepens the debuff. This is especially effective at the start of a boss encounter or whenever a boss enters a new phase with increased defenses.

Stagger and Posture Damage

Force Palm contributes significantly to the stagger gauge (the yellow bar beneath an enemy's health bar). Each palm strike fills roughly 20-25% of a boss's stagger bar. Landing three consecutive palm strikes on a boss will often break their posture entirely, leaving them open to a finisher attack. Some bosses, like the Crimson Nightmare, can only be damaged after you fill their stagger gauge with Force Palm hits.

Boss Strategy

The general boss strategy with Force Palm follows a cycle: dodge the boss's attack pattern, land 3-4 Force Palm hits to fill the stagger gauge, then unleash your strongest weapon combos while the boss is stunned. The Excavatron boss in the Stolen Quarry quest is a prime example. When its drills light up, hitting it with Force Palm staggers it and cancels its devastating Dig attack.

Puzzle Solving

Force Palm is the primary tool for solving environmental puzzles throughout Crimson Desert. The ability can interact with special objects in the world that glow with a faint energy shimmer.

• Moving objects: Aim Force Palm at a puzzle piece and fire to push it into the correct position. Many puzzles in the Abyss areas require sliding stone blocks into alignment.

• Connecting objects to surfaces: Certain puzzle objects need to be attached to specific walls or slots. Force Palm locks them in place once you push them to the right spot.

• Activating mechanisms: Some devices and platforms respond only to Force Palm energy. Striking them triggers switches, opens doors, or powers up machinery.

• Rebuilding structures: During the Abyss Without Balance quest, you use Force Palm to rebuild a kiln by pressing scattered fragments into the correct positions.

If a puzzle object does not respond to Force Palm, it may require Focused Force Palm instead (see the Focused Force Palm section below). Objects that require the focused variant typically have a multicolored shimmer or a visible internal core.

Traversal and Climbing

One of the most useful applications of Force Palm has nothing to do with combat or puzzles. You can use Force Palm while airborne to catapult yourself upward. Jump and press the Force Palm input up to three times in succession while in midair. Each activation propels Kliff higher, allowing you to scale tall cliffs, walls, and buildings without consuming stamina for climbing.

This technique is faster than traditional climbing and works on almost any vertical surface. Combine it with the Double Jump skill for even greater height. The only cost is Spirit, so make sure your Spirit meter has enough charge before attempting a tall ascent.

Mining Ore

Force Palm doubles as a mining tool. When you encounter ore deposits on cliff faces or in hard-to-reach locations, you can destroy them with Force Palm instead of using a pickaxe. Climb to the ore vein and press R3 (or Mouse Wheel on PC) to shatter it and collect the resources.

Be aware that using Force Palm while clinging to a wall pushes you off. Position yourself directly next to the ore vein so the resources drop before you fall. Alternatively, if the ore is visible from a distance, you can use a Charged Shot to break it from range.

Force Palm Variants

As you progress through the game and invest Abyss Artifacts in the skill tree, Force Palm expands into several specialized variants. Each variant builds on the base ability and adds a distinct function.

Healing Force Palm

Healing Force Palm converts your palm energy into restorative energy. To activate it, hold the Force Palm input (R3 / Mouse Wheel) to enter the aiming stance, then press L3 (Tab on PC) to switch to the healing variant. The aiming reticle changes color to indicate the switch. Release to fire the healing palm at your target.

The most common use is healing your horse. Your mount takes damage during combat and from environmental hazards. When your horse stops sprinting or appears sluggish, it likely needs healing. Stand near your horse, aim the Healing Force Palm at its torso, and release. You can check your horse's health through the Inventory Menu when your horse is summoned nearby.

Healing Force Palm also works on allied NPCs during escort missions and companion quests. Aim at any friendly character and release to restore a portion of their health.

Aerial Force Palm

Aerial Force Palm activates automatically when you use Force Palm while airborne. Jump and press R3 (Mouse Wheel on PC), and Kliff fires the palm strike downward, propelling himself upward. You can chain up to three aerial palm strikes in succession, gaining significant height with each one.

In combat, Aerial Force Palm pushes enemies into the ground, dealing impact damage and briefly pinning lighter foes. In puzzles, it can push elevated objects downward onto pressure plates or into slots below.

The traversal use is the most impactful. Three consecutive aerial palm strikes let you reach ledges, rooftops, and cliff tops that would otherwise require a long climbing route. Combine with Double Jump for maximum height. This consumes 15 Spirit total (5 per strike), so make sure you have enough charge before starting the ascent.

Diving Force Palm

Diving Force Palm is a powerful downward strike that channels all your energy into a single plunging attack. You unlock it by observing the skill in action during a story sequence, rather than through the skill tree.

To use Diving Force Palm, press R3 after an Aerial Swing or press R3 while falling from a significant height. Kliff channels energy and slams downward with tremendous force. This deals heavy damage to enemies below and creates an area-of-effect impact zone.

Diving Force Palm works best as a combat opener when engaging enemies from an elevated position. Jump from a cliff or rooftop, target a group of enemies below, and unleash the diving palm to start the fight with a devastating opening strike.

Focused Force Palm

Focused Force Palm is one of the most important abilities in the first third of Crimson Desert. Unlike other variants, it is not unlocked through the skill tree. You learn it by completing the House Roberts faction questline and then observing a spirit's demonstration near Fort Perwin.

How to Unlock

1. Complete the House Roberts faction quests, which involve clearing bandit-controlled areas including the Karin Quarry.

2. Clear Fort Perwin (located southwest of Hernand). This requires defeating The Red Nightmare boss and his forces.

3. After Fort Perwin, travel west along the main path until you reach a small mountain passage.

4. Inside, you will find a spirit standing before a rock wall with a shimmering multicolored stone. Watch the spirit's demonstration.

5. Kliff automatically learns Focused Force Palm after observing the spirit.

How to Use

Focused Force Palm requires precise timing. When you activate Force Palm on a multicolored stone, a leaf symbol appears and begins moving toward the stone's inner core. Watch the leaf carefully as it approaches the core. When the core glows gold, release the Force Palm button. If your timing is correct, the focused energy penetrates the core and shatters the stone.

If you release too early or too late, the palm strike connects but fails to penetrate the core. The stone remains intact and you must try again. Practice the timing on the first stone you encounter after learning the ability. The visual cue is clear: wait for the gold glow, then release.

Why It Matters

Focused Force Palm is required to break through shimmering rock walls that block critical paths. Most notably, it unlocks the route to the Grey Mane Camp fast travel point, which serves as a central hub for the mid-game region. Without this ability, large portions of the map remain inaccessible.

Force Palm Proficiency and Expertise

These are passive upgrades rather than separate abilities. Force Palm Proficiency unlocks at Force Palm Level 2 and allows you to perform two consecutive palm strikes without breaking the combo. Force Palm Expertise unlocks at Force Palm Level 3 and extends this to three consecutive strikes.

Three rapid palm strikes are enough to fill most regular enemies' stagger gauges completely and make a significant dent in boss stagger bars. Investing Abyss Artifacts to reach Force Palm Level 3 early is one of the strongest upgrades available in the early game.

Force Palm Pulse

Force Palm Pulse is a follow-up attack that fires a swift, powerful second strike immediately after a standard Force Palm. It requires Unarmed Combat Level 3 and Force Palm Level 3 to unlock, plus one Abyss Artifact. This ability extends your palm strike combos and increases damage output during stagger windows.

Elemental Force Palm

Once you unlock elemental imbue abilities (Flame and Frost), you can infuse your Force Palm strikes with elemental damage. Elemental Force Palm becomes available after unlocking either the Flame or Frost skill trees through Abyss puzzles at the Spire of Ringing Truth.

• Flame Force Palm: Adds fire damage to each palm strike. Effective against enemies weak to fire and can ignite environmental objects.

• Frost Force Palm: Adds ice damage to each palm strike. Slows enemies on hit and can freeze weakened targets.

You can switch between elements in your skill loadout. The active element applies to all imbue-compatible abilities, including Force Palm, weapon attacks, and other elemental skills.

Tips and Best Practices

1. Upgrade Force Palm early. Reaching Level 3 for the triple-strike combo is one of the best early investments. It transforms boss fights from endurance tests into manageable encounters.

2. Always check your Spirit before a fight. If your Spirit is empty, Force Palm will not activate. Get into the habit of recharging Spirit between encounters.

3. Use aerial palm strikes for traversal. Climbing tall structures with three quick palm jumps is faster than manually scaling walls and does not consume stamina.

4. Stack defense reduction on bosses. Open a boss fight with 2-3 Force Palm hits to lower their defense before committing to weapon combos. Your overall damage increases significantly.

5. Mine ore from walls. When you see ore veins on cliff faces, climb to them and use Force Palm. Position yourself directly next to the vein before striking, since the palm push will knock you off the wall.

6. Heal your horse regularly. Switch to Healing Force Palm (hold R3 then press L3 / Tab) whenever your horse takes damage. A healthy horse sprints faster and lasts longer in mounted combat.

7. Practice Focused Force Palm timing. The gold-glow window is forgiving once you learn the rhythm. Watch the leaf approach the core and release the moment the glow appears.

8. Combine with Double Jump. For maximum vertical reach, use Double Jump first, then chain three aerial Force Palm strikes. This covers enormous height and is useful for reaching secret areas and shortcut routes.

Troubleshooting

If Force Palm is not working, check the following common issues.